Blues can pass Edenderry test to secure final place

By Kevin Egan

In theory, this should be the point when the Offaly senior football championship catches fire. We’ll forget for a moment the relegation semi-finals, particularly in light of the news that the Offaly Competitions Control Committee (CCC) intend to recommend a switch to ten senior 'A' teams for the 2025 championships.

Of course that may not come to pass. Much like the upcoming rule adjustments that are proposed by Jim Gavin and the Football Review Committee, it’s only when they pass through a Special Congress that we can be sure that this is the case, and the same applies in Offaly. For that reason, the Rhode vs Ballycommon and Bracknagh vs Durrow games will take place, even if they will almost certainly be meaningless.

But when it comes to the big showdowns, Sunday should be a fantastic double header, with all four teams coming in on the back of either hard-fought, or else comprehensive victories. Nonetheless, a nagging feeling still remains, suggesting that it’s far from certain that these ties - Ferbane vs Shamrocks and Tullamore vs Edenderry - will be as enjoyable as all that.

The feeling around the county right now is that Tullamore are the overwhelming favourites to retain the Dowling Cup, not because they have kicked on with a relatively young panel, but because most of their main rivals have regressed slightly, while they are on a par with where they were in 2023.

In the past couple of weeks, however, there have been fleeting signs that Edenderry might be capable of more, and when we consider that the Reds were desperately unlucky not to win this exact fixture 12 months ago, it’s reasonable to assume that there will have been quiet optimism inside the dressing rooms at training in Edenderry over the past couple of weeks.

Jordan Hayes is making a serious tilt at winning Footballer of the Year, and a half-back line of Adam Mahon, Lee Pearson and Dylan Byrne is strong going forward, as well as in defence.

All the same caveats about Edenderry continue to apply. Against Bracknagh, Cian Farrell was as devastating as ever, and the rest of the starting forward line got one point between them, and that was a free from Seán Doyle.

To pull off the upset they need this Sunday afternoon (Glenisk O'Connor Park, throw-in 3.45), someone is going to have to step up and produce the type of performance that we haven’t seen from any Edenderry forward (other than Cian Farrell) so far this year. Declan Hogan will be deployed on Farrell and while he won’t keep his former Offaly colleague scoreless, we'll hardly see another haul of five or six scores from play by Farrell either.

Meanwhile, it’s a lot easier to be confident of Tullamore holding their own in the middle third, and finding the scores that bit easier to come by. Expect the champions to prevail by 0-13 to 0-9, or some equally uninspiring scoreline.